I am dismayed to learn that my state representative, Laurel Libby, thinks it appropriate to publicly criticize a transgender athlete. I thought someone with her influence was above attacking high school students.

No doubt, the debate about the participation of transgender athletes in sports is complicated. Still, I hope we can agree on a few things. First, those who know a teenager, or who were a teenager, know that adolescence is not easy.

Second, questions about gender are not simple. Since Rep. Libby cares so much about women’s sports, she might like knowing that men have been running marathons in the Olympics since 1896. Women since 1984. If gender is simple, then why did it take men so long to figure out that women could handle running competitively? And if men were so wrong about women’s bodies, what do we not yet understand about transgender identities?

And let’s remember one more thing. Maine student athletes like the one Rep. Libby publicly criticized are following the rules. Maine laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity. President Trump’s (or anyone else’s) executive orders don’t change that.

If Rep. Libby does not like the rules, she should change them. She should be a legislator, not a bully.

Meanwhile, I’d appreciate it if she stopped harassing some children in the name of protecting others. Soundbites are fun, but empathy for all (and not just for the people one likes) is the mark of true leadership.

Joe Hall, Auburn